Fig. 6

Detection of transplanted NPCs in the spinal cord. a Confocal micrographs of grafts of neural progenitors expressing BDNF-GFP (upper panel) or GFP (lower panel) 5 weeks after cell transplantation in low magnification. GFP cells are positive for BrdU and showed robust GFP expression. However, the GFP signal of BDNF-GFP-expressing cells is very weak and almost undetectable by confocal microscopy, but cells can be efficiently traced by BrdU. b Maximum intensity projection of a 20 μm section of a BDNF-GFP cell and GFP cell graft in the spinal cord. BrdU labeled-cells (green) are localized near the injury lesion (GFAP negative). c Quantification of cell survival in NPC grafted mice: 27.38 ± 4.94 % BDNF-GFP NPCs and 21.74 ± 3.56 % GFP NPCs of 100,000 injected cells were detectable 5 weeks after transplantation. No significant difference was detected among the groups (p = 0.4066), unpaired Student’s t test. Data represent mean ± SEM. BDNF brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BrdU 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine, GFAP glial fibrillary acidic protein, GFP green fluorescent protein